County of building: Saint Charles County
Location of structure: Madison St., 10th house W of S 9th St., N side, St. Charles
Built: 1923
Architect/Builder: Unknown
Architectural Style: Craftsman Bungalow
Original Occupant: Ralph and Frances Elmendorf
Map
"356. 1026 Madison Street; Bungalow; circa 1923; Contributing
Shaded by mature trees, this 1½-story, front-gabled frame bungalow has a scored concrete foundation pierced by 2-light windows. The walls are clad with Masonite siding and the soffits, gable ends and dormers are finished with vinyl siding. The roof has wide overhanging eaves trimmed by a raking cornice and on each of the side slopes are wide shed dormers, each with two 4/1 windows. In the central bay of the façade is a Craftsman style, 1/3-glazed, 3-light wood door. To its right is a tripartite window composed of a 4/1 wood window flanked by narrow 2/1 windows and to the left is a 6/1 (vertical lights) wood window. The 2-bay porch has a concrete deck and stairs framed by brick knee walls with concrete copings, brick piers and a pedestal, a pierced concrete railing, and hip roof with wide overhanging eaves
and a wide frieze. A pair of 4/1 windows is in the front gable end. On the south end of the east elevation is an exterior end chimney clad with Masonite siding and to each side of the chimney is a small window
having muntins forming a diamond pattern. To the north is a box bay with a band of three 4/1 windows and at the north end is a pair of short 4/1 windows.
a. Garage: Contributing
The 1-story, 1-car garage has a low front-gabled roof, Masonite siding, and a paneled metal overhead door is on the south façade. The garage appears to be at least 50 years old." ~ NRHP Nomination Form
"Built: 1923 circa
Style/Design: Bungalow
The county’s tax parcels database gives the date of construction as 1920; however, the house does not appear in the 1921-22 city directory. The 1925-26 directory lists the owners as Ralph and Frances Elmendorf, and he was the chief clerk at the American Car and Foundry Co. By 1929-30 Frank and Emma Bezzenberger had purchased the property, and their family continued to own and occupy the residence through 1961, when research ended. No occupation was listed for Frank except in 1931-32, when he was an express agent. Laura Bezzenberger, Frank and Emma’s daughter, also resided in the house and was the manager of the Railway Express Agency, Inc. By 1945 Frank had died and his widow, Emma, was listed as the homeowner; however, from 1950 through 1961 Laura Bezzenberger owned the house, and no occupation was listed for her during this period.
Since the Bezzenberger family owned the house for more than 30 years during the historic period, their name is given along with
the Elmendorfs as the historic name.
"Shaded by mature trees, this one-and-one-half story, front-gabled, frame bungalow rests on a scored concrete foundation pierced by two-light hopper windows. The walls are clad with what appears to be Masonite siding, and the soffits, gable ends, and dormers are finished with vinyl siding. The roof has wide overhanging eaves, a raking cornice, and on each of the side slopes are wide shed-roof dormers, each with two 4/1 windows. The main three-bay façade has a central entrance, which is a Craftsman style, 1/3-glazed, 3-light wood door, and there is also a half-glazed storm door. To the right of the entrance is a tripartite window composed of a 4/1 wood window flanked by narrow 2/1 windows, and to the left of the entrance is a 6/1 (6 vertical lights over 1 light) wood window framed by louvered blinds.
Dominating the main façade is a two-bay, hip-roofed porch with concrete deck, painted brick piers and pedestal, and a pierced concrete railing. Aligned with the door, the concrete stairs are framed by painted brick knee walls with concrete copings. The porch roof has wide overhanging eaves and a wide frieze, and above the railing on the east side of the porch is a wooden trellis. A pair of 4/1 windows is in the front gable end. On the south end of the east
elevation is an exterior end chimney that has been clad with cement asbestos shingles, and to each side of the chimney is a small window having muntins forming a diamond pattern. To the north is a suspended box bay set under the eaves of the main roof, and this bay has a band of three 4/1 windows. To the north of the box bay is a pair of short 4/1 windows. The west elevation has three bays: in each of the outer bays is a 4/1 window while the center bay has a short 3/1 window. On the rear elevation is a partial-width, shed-roof porch.
"The flat lot has small front and side yards, and the front yard is shaded by two mature trees. A public sidewalk extends along the
front lot line, and a sidewalk leads from the street to the front porch stairs. Along the west side of the house, an asphalt driveway
leads from the street to the garage in the rear yard. The one-car garage has a low front-gabled roof, and the walls are clad with what appears to be Masonite siding, matching the siding of the house. The south façade has a paneled overhead door that appears to be metal. The garage is not shown on the 1947 Sanborn map, but since it has cement asbestos siding it appears to have been built before 1961 and is being counted as contributing." ~ St. Charles Historic Survey Phase II, PDF pages 411-415